Hurricanes Double Warriors for Fourth Straight Victory
Moose Jaw, SK – The Lethbridge Hurricanes continued a five-game road trip on Saturday with a 4-2 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Lethbridge rounded out the five-game season series against Moose Jaw in the second of their five-game trip. Jordan Gustafson made his Hurricanes debut in the game as he suited up for his first WHL game in 293 days dating back to March of last year. The Warriors had an early power play when Cameron Norrie was penalized just 1:46 into the game. Moose Jaw had a pair of early chances with the extra man as they looked to open the scoring, but Koen Cleaver was sharp early to keep it scoreless. Lethbridge had a four-minute power play later in the period, but while up a man, the ‘Canes surrendered a shorthanded goal as Ethan Semeniuk scored his 11th goal of the season to make it 1-0 at the 15:22 mark. The Hurricanes pulled even with 1:08 remaining in the period when Shane Smith buried a rebound for his sixth of the year to even the score 1-1; Leo Braillard and Gustafson earned the assists on the goal. The Hurricanes outshot the Warriors 15-9 in the first period.
The Hurricanes dominated the second period outshooting the Warriors 22-7 in the frame. Lethbridge peppered the Warriors goaltender Josh Banini who made a trio of outstanding saves, including a cross-ice one-timer by Logan Wormald where Banini slid across to keep it a tie game. The ‘Canes took the lead at the 14:34 mark when Smith tucked home a wraparound for his second goal of the game to make it a 2-1 game; Braillard and Noah Chadwick picked up the helpers on the goal. Just under three-minutes later, the Hurricanes made it a two-goal game when Wormald wired home his team-leading 21st goal of the season on a three-way passing play; Cameron Norrie and Brayden Edwards were credited with the assists on the 3-1 goal. Before the end of the period, Moose Jaw pulled back to within a goal when Aiden Ziprick ripped home his 10th goal of the season to make it a 3-2 contest after forty minutes of play.
In the third period, both the Hurricanes and Warriors traded a pair of power play opportunities, but the netminders were strong keeping it a one-goal game. Moose Jaw killed a late kneeing penalty to Semeniuk ad the ‘Canes came close to find an insurance goal. The Warriors had a power play in the final minute as they pulled the goaltender for a six-on-four attach. Moose Jaw struggled to generate any great looks with the two-man advantage and the Hurricanes sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 4.2-seconds left when Gustafson found the goal for his first in a Lethbridge uniform to make it a 4-2 final. The ‘Canes edged the Warriors 8-6 in shots in the third period.
The Hurricanes outshot the Warriors 45-22 in the game marking the third time in four games the ‘Canes reached the 40-shot mark. Lethbridge and Moose Jaw both went 0/4 on the power play.
Three stars of the game were:
1) Warriors – #35 Josh Banini (41-saves)
2) ‘Canes – #10 Shane Smith (2 goals)
3) ‘Canes – #28 Leo Braillard (2 assists)
The win for the Hurricanes was their fourth-straight victory as it matches a season-long winning streak set on two prior occasions. Lethbridge earned their third-straight road win as they improved to 4-1-0-0 in their last five road games as their road record improved to 8-11-0-1 on the season. The ‘Canes overall record lifted to 23-14-1-1 on the year as they swept the five-game season-series against Moose Jaw marking just the second time in team history Lethbridge accomplished the feat.
The Hurricanes continue their five-game road trip on Wednesday, January 15th at 8:00pm MT at they visit the Tri-City Americans in t. Lethbridge will return to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on Wednesday, January 22nd when they welcome the Regina Pats at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre or VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca.